Holiday by Candlelight

A bit of false advertising - not really a "holiday" romance in the true sense of the word. Yes, Christmas/Hanukkah are taking place but they're fairly incidental to the plot. I came for the Jewish/biracial hero but left disappointed.

The romance is fine, I guess. Former hot-shot surgeon Caleb is recovering from the PTSD of surviving an avalanche and losing the use of one of his hands, and he can barely get on a ski lift, much less consider having a girlfriend who takes dangerous risks working for Search And Rescue operations. Garnet is tired of changing who she is based on what her boyfriend wants, so there's no way she's giving up the job she loves for the cute doctor. Complications ensue.

I'm not a big M/F romance fan, much less a show more category romance reader, so I wouldn't have even looked at this book if it weren't for the menorah on the cover. Unfortunately, other than a Hanukkah dinner (that mostly happens off page) and a few Skype conversations with Caleb's Jewish mother, this could have been any other generic romance. I'm not saying Laurel Greer had to write Fiddler on the Roof, but a little more integration of Jewish themes in the plot would have been greatly appreciated given the title and blurb.

I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. show less